links for 2009-09-13

WordPress can be so much more than just a blogging platform and can be used to run many types of sites from personal sites to online magazines and portfolios.

I guess I could say I’m a hardcore WordPress user. Actually, almost every website I’ve designed/coded runs on WordPress.

Throughout the years I’ve learned a lot about WordPress and how it can be used to run almost any type of website. Today I’d like to share some great resources and tutorials that have helped me along the way! 🙂

Every day, governments and government agencies publish more data on the Internet. Sharing this data enables greater transparency; delivers more efficient public services; and encourages greater public and commercial use and re-use of government information. Some governments have even created catalogs or portals (such as data.gov) to make it easy for the public to find and use this data.

Although the reasons may vary, the logistics and practicalities of opening government data are the same. To help governments open and share their data, the W3C eGov Interest Group has developed the following guidelines. These straightforward steps emphasize standards and methodologies to encourage publication of government data, allowing the public to use this data in new and innovative ways.

Climate change is with us. Sea levels are rising, ice is melting, temperatures are increasing, and the consequences are major. This is not “just” about polar bears and pandas anymore, it’s about us humans and our survival.

Chris Csikszentmihályi wrote: "I had not planned on attending the O'Reilly conference Gov2.0 , an exposition and dialog about new forms of government and information technology. But at last week's Foo Camp (another O'Reilly conference) I met a great number of people in the area, and I became pretty excited with what I heard. For instance, I was in a session on government and data, sitting next to a deputy CTO from the White House, and was surprised by the sincere and urgent dialog that was taking place with information activists and coders. The White House and geeks? What is not to like? So now I am sitting in a huge room in the third sub-basement of the Grand Hyatt in D.C. Microsoft's Chief Research and Strategy officer is speaking, so it is a good chance for me to reflect on what I have seen so far."

The fallout from the relaunch of Birmingham City council's website (#bccwebsite) has continued, not just online but in the local press as well thanks to the strong interest of Birmingham Post Editor Marc Reeves. It's not a coincidence that the Post has a 'web 2.0' site and in its reporting about #bccwebsite has even included comments left on its news stories as well as comment sourced from online feedback – including mine.